The STFARC Principle
This incomprehensible series of signs from Oklahoma is the best example of the STFARC principle I've seen in a long time. STFARC dates back to the mid-nineties, when a local craft store decided to advertise along the road near my parent's home. In a misguided attempt to follow in the footsteps of Burma-Shave, they split their message into sequential signs posted along the side of the road, each showing one letter of the word "crafts". Unfortunately, with all the signs within eyespan it was impossible not to read them left to right--hence STFARC.It didn't take long for them to realize their mistake and remove the signs. No such luck here. The proprietors of the Oklahoma signs have stubbornly stuck to their sequential plan despite the fact that it's almost certainly impossible to read the signs from a moving vehicle. They've got the feel of a slighly off-balance manifesto. I love that they've obsessively numbered them and erected a little wayfinding post (START FROM OTHER END). As I read through the stream-of-consciousness narrative from left to right, it's hard not to see the parallels to Memento. (Link via Boing Boing).
Posted March 18, 2004
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